A little while back...maybe in November, Little Lizard King put out a note on Facebook that she was looking for pattern testers. I have always wanted to help test a pattern but rarely have the time. With Christmas break approaching, I jumped in and offered to test the pattern. She sent me the pattern, free of charge. I finished my test and sent my comments to her.
The pattern's out now! Click here to go to Little Lizard King's blog post about the pattern release and to see lots of cute variations on the dress.
Here's the dress I made from the pattern. Since it was winter, Sweet Pea wore a long sleeved shirt and leggings underneath. In the spring/summer, she can wear it with bare shoulders and legs. She was pretty excited about it.
She so enjoys striking a pose for me!
The pattern goes up to size 6. Sweet Pea is somewhere between a 6 and 7 now. So, the arm openings were a little too small for her. (Little Lizard King may have modified the pattern based on my feedback about that.) To extend the shoulder seams, I put ribbon on the seams. It made for a cute addition to the pattern, actually.
The pattern was really well written. My feedback was pretty minor. I love some of the little nuances that Little Lizard King includes in her patterns that make them so readable.
(I've edited this photo to include only a portion of the pattern out of respect for the pattern designer. Sorry it's blurry. This was taken with my old camera.)
For example, I love it when people include a measure box, so you can make sure your pattern printed out the right size.
I love how she has all these colored lines to help you know which line to cut for which size.
The pattern was easy to read and easy to follow. The dress is made of a few simple shapes that were easy to cut out and assemble. I whipped this dress up in less than 2 hours, and I don't really sew clothes much. In fact, I'm pretty intimidated by it. So, this is a pattern individuals who don't have a lot of clothing sewing experience could make, I believe. I would certainly recommend this and any other Little Lizard King patterns to anyone.
Get your pattern here. It's out now! While you're there, check out all the other cool stuff Little Lizard King has....like her also newly-released apron-front skirt. Totally cute. Most is for girls, but there are a few projects for boys (like a vest and a tie). She has some really great patterns for matching doll dresses for sale, too. So, your girl and her doll can wear the same dress. So fun.
Her patterns are really reasonably priced...at about $6-7. And you get multiple sizes for those prices. Just great. I love how they are delivered in PDF format, so I can store them on my computer (reduces clutter in my sewing room). And I don't mind cutting up the pattern when I know I can just print out another one if I need to make it again in another size. Awesome.
By the way, Little Lizard King is so amazingly thoughtful. When my friend, Brian, died, she sent me some doll dress patterns to give me something to do (to take my mind off things) and to cheer me up. How sweet is that? I haven't had a minute to sew them up, but I will, and I'll do a pattern review for you all on that, too.
I hope you hop on over to Little Lizard King's blog and check it out. She also does some amazing posts on machine embroidery projects and furniture fixing up, etc. Lots of fun. I enjoy following her blog. She also is one of the nicest people I've never met IRL yet!
Aren't blogging friends just wonderful? I really can't get over it, to be honest with you, how many nice people I've met through blogging. It makes me feel so good...
Until next time,
Mama Pea
P.S. Would you like to see some of my outtakes from the photo shoot with Sweet Pea? She makes me take the silly pictures as well and will only do poses for me if I let her intersperse the silly ones. For your viewing pleasure, I offer the outtakes:
Yep. That's my girl.
Sweet Pea and the dress are both super cute! :) I'm off to look at Little Lizard King's Etsy shop!
Posted by: Candice | January 27, 2011 at 06:02 PM
Love the out takes! My P. does the exact same thing - such hams!
The dress is really cute. I never would have guessed that you put the ribbon on the shoulders to enlarge the armholes. It looks like a "design element" to me!
Posted by: Lynn | January 27, 2011 at 06:03 PM
Outtakes are so funny!! LOL! Sweet Pea looks darling!! Such a cute pattern. I really like the fabric you used as well!
Posted by: Linda | January 27, 2011 at 06:16 PM
Love the photos!!!!
Posted by: Brooke | January 27, 2011 at 09:15 PM
Sweet Pea is just adorable in the dress! It is the cutest :) I always made my girls dresses when they were little.
Hugs,
Donna
Posted by: Donna | January 27, 2011 at 09:46 PM
That dress is darling, and your model is adorable! What a gorgeous girl!
Posted by: Allie | January 28, 2011 at 02:53 AM
Great post! It cool you have a church that supports the community. Sweet Pea's dress is beautiful and it looks fun to wear :-) The Tree of Life in tile, right next to the quilt, is thought provoking, what an inspired source of creativity for a mason!
Posted by: Aunt Pea | January 28, 2011 at 11:03 AM
Cute with the shirt under but I must say even at six yrs old, that seems pretty low-cut for wearing in the next summer.
ps-is that girl still missing her teeth?
Posted by: sisLH | January 28, 2011 at 11:56 PM
Cute post! Sweet Pea looks adorable in her dress. You did a great job on that dress too. Love the fabrics.
Posted by: Caroll D | January 28, 2011 at 11:59 PM
LOVE the outtakes! hahaha! Go Sweet Pea!
Posted by: Shelly | February 07, 2011 at 11:19 PM